But on Monday, after a three-day trial and almost six hours of deliberations, a jury convicted him of carrying out the crime on Christmas Day, 2011.

Opening her case to the jury prosecutor Lesley Bates described the circumstances of the offence.

She said: “The defendant was drunk, he had been out on Christmas Eve. He became aggressive and threatening towards her. She pleaded with him ‘please don’t hurt me’.”

The barrister added: “At first she said no but he slapped her repeatedly across the face, telling her to do it.

“She was afraid of him and she did what she was told.”

And on Friday, Claire Fraser, defending, said since the offence was committed her client had served a three-year sentence at Bullingdon Prison for causing grievous bodily harm with intent. She said: “He is a different person to the person who released from custody in September last year.

“He was particularly young at the time this offence was committed and has changed a great deal since then.”

Judge Ian Pringle said he had taken into account the change in Williams since he came out of prison in September.

But he added that what the defendant had done had a “destructive” effect on his victim. He jailed Williams and made a restraining order indefinitely banning contact with the complainant.